Frankel Shuts Out Vancouver, Boston Stays Undefeated

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BOSTON, MA (December 2, 2025) – The Boston Fleet announced today that the team will host a home game at TD Garden on Apr. 11 against the Montréal Victoire at 7 p.m. ET.

“Hosting a Fleet game at TD Garden is an exciting milestone for our organization,” said Fleet Business Operations Director Laura Marie Davey. “Playing at such an iconic venue presents an incredible opportunity to showcase the PWHL on one of the biggest stages in sports and to connect with fans from across Greater Boston.”

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025, TD Garden stands as New England’s premier sports and entertainment arena and one of the most recognized venues in North America. The state-of-the-art facility accommodates 17,850 fans for hockey and is home to two of the region’s most storied franchises, the NHL’s Boston Bruins and the NBA’s Boston Celtics. Over the past three decades, TD Garden has hosted thousands of world-class events, including everything from championship playoff runs and major collegiate tournaments to internationally renowned concerts and special events.

“We’re honored to welcome the PWHL’s Boston Fleet to TD Garden for their first game this April,” said Glen Thornborough, president of TD Garden and COO of the Boston Bruins. “TD Garden is built to give world-class athletes and fans a world-class stage, and we’re proud to bring the PWHL onto a platform that delivers the full NHL-level experience they deserve. The growth of women’s sports is inspiring, and adding more premier women’s events to our calendar is something we’re energized to champion.”

In recent years, the arena has also become a major stage for women’s sports. TD Garden has hosted the Women’s Beanpot Championship for two consecutive years, with a record-setting crowd of over 13,000 in 2025, and is confirmed to host the event again in 2026 for its third straight year. The WNBA’s Connecticut Sun have likewise played at the Garden for the past two summers, delivering back-to-back sellouts and further underscoring the venue’s growing role in elevating women’s sports on every level.

Matchups between the Fleet and Victoire have delivered the intensity befitting the storied Boston–Montréal rivalry. Since the PWHL’s launch in 2024, the two teams have met in 10 regular-season games, with seven decided in overtime or a shootout. Their most dramatic showdown came during the 2024 PWHL Playoffs, when Boston swept Montréal in a best-of-five semifinal series featuring three consecutive overtime games, including a marathon triple-overtime battle on May 11, 2024.

Fleet Season Ticket Members will be allocated seats as part of their package. Fans looking to be part of the action can secure their spot when single-game tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, December 5, at 10:00 a.m. ET via Ticketmaster.

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BOSTON, MA (December 3, 2025) – Aerin Frankel made 21 saves to earn her second shutout of the season and led the Boston Fleet to a 2-0 home victory over the Vancouver Goldeneyes at Agganis Arena on Wednesday night. The Fleet remains the only undefeated team in the PWHL and became just the second team in league history to open a season with three regulation wins. Boston rookie Abby Newhook opened the scoring just 5:02 into the game as the Fleet dominated the first period, outshooting Vancouver 19-2. After a scoreless middle frame, forward Jill Saulnier gave the Fleet an insurance goal at 6:40 of the third period, her first tally of the season. Frankel held strong in the third period as the Goldeneyes pushed back, outshooting the Fleet 13-5 in the frame. Vancouver goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer made 29 saves in the loss as the Goldeneyes dropped their third straight road game in regulation.

QUOTES

Boston Head Coach Kris Sparre on his team’s strong start and strategy throughout the game: “Our thought tonight was we wanted to jump on Vancouver early. We didn’t start on time in Toronto; it took us a while to get into that game. The message tonight was to get after it early, and I thought we did a really good job. When you get that many chances, as we did in that [first] period, and they don’t go in the net as many times as you want them to, it’s natural for players to start looking for more, start thinking offensively, and forget the details of the game. I thought that’s where it bit us in the second period, but credit to our group. We fixed it right away and came out in the third with a really strong period.”

Fleet goaltender Aerin Frankel on the team remaining undefeated: “I’m just really excited for our team’s success. Being 3-0 is incredible, and obviously, it’s a really long season, but if you like how you’re playing at the beginning of the year, it’s a pretty good indication of what this group is capable of. Anytime we can get a win, especially at home, is really exciting. We had such great support from our fans, and we’ll be back here on the weekend. We’re all looking forward to keeping things rolling.”

Vancouver Head Coach Brian Idalski on his team’s performance in Boston: “Tough first period. I thought [Emerance Maschmeyer] was terrific for us, gave us a chance, kept us in there. I thought we got our feet going and played a little better there in the second and third, but we’ve got to play a full 60 for sure.”

Goldeneyes captain Ashton Bell on takeaways from the game: “Defensively, we grew a lot today from our first two games on this road trip, and seeing how we rallied in the d-zone today, I think structurally we were a lot better. We had a great second there and had some momentum going into the third. We’ve just got to find ways to bury it. Frankel’s an outstanding goalie, and all the goalies in the league are, so just finding a way to get into the crease and take their eyes away and be harder to play against.”

NOTABLES

Boston tied a PWHL record with three regulation wins in their first three games of the season, matching Minnesota’s three straight to open the inaugural PWHL season.

Aerin Frankel has allowed just one goal through three games this season, stopping 70 of 71 shots. She has already recorded two shutouts this season, matching her total career regular-season shutouts entering 2025‑26.

Frankel recorded her second shutout in the fewest number of games to start a PWHL season. The previous record was held by Minnesota’s Maddie Rooney, who needed just six starts to reach two shutouts during the inaugural season.

Emerance Maschmeyer made 18 saves in the first period, tying the most in a single period by any goaltender this season. Minnesota’s Nicole Hensley also recorded 18 saves in a period, doing so in the third against the Seattle Torrent on Nov. 28.

Abby Newhook scored for the second straight game, becoming the first PWHL rookie this season to reach two goals. She is tied with Susanna Tapani for the team lead in goals and remains the only Fleet rookie to record a point through the team’s first three games. Her five shots on goal set a career high.

Hadley Hartmetz notched her first career PWHL point with the primary assist on Newhook’s goal. The helper came in her third game of the season and fifth career game — the defender appeared in two contests for the Fleet in 2024-25 after missing the team’s first 23 games on LTIR.

Theresa Schafzahl recorded her first point of the season — the secondary helper on Newhook’s tally — the second straight season she’s notched her first point in the team’s third game. The third-year Boston forward finished the 2024-25 season with five points (3G, 2A) in 30 games.

With her goal tonight, Jill Saulnier has recorded points in back-to-back games (1G, 1A) for the first time in her PWHL career. Her five shots on goal also set a new career high.

Boston opened the game with the first 17 shots on goal and finished the first period with 19 total — the most by any team in a single period this season. Their 12th shot came at 9:38 of the opening frame, matching their full-game total of 12 shots from their previous outing against Toronto.

Fleet centers controlled the faceoff circle by the largest margin in any game this season, winning 35 of 49 draws (71.4%). Alina Müller was nearly perfect at the dot, winning 10 of 11 (90.9%), Hannah Brandt won 10 of 15 (66.7%), Susanna Tapani won 7 of 12 (58.3%), and Liz Schepers won 6 of 8 (75.0%).

Vancouver didn’t register their first shot until 14:54 of the first period and finished the frame with just two shots on goal, matching the lowest single-period total by any team this season (BOS in the first period vs. TOR on Nov. 29).

Vancouver allowed the first goal against for the fourth straight game to open the season and has yet to hold a lead in any contest.

Goldeneyes rookie Madison Samoskevich set a new career high with four hits, the most of any player in the game. She entered the contest with two hits in the team’s first three games.

Fleet rookie Ella Huber, who entered the game without a shot on goal this season, registered five shots in the contest, tying Saulnier and Newhook for the most in the game.

Sarah Nurse was scratched from Vancouver’s lineup for the third straight game and is listed day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

THREE STARS

1. Jill Saulnier (BOS) 1G
2. Aerin Frankel (BOS) 21/21 SV
3. Abby Newhook (BOS) 1G

UPCOMING SCHEDULES

Vancouver: Saturday, Dec. 6 vs. New York at 3 p.m. ET
Boston: Sunday, Dec. 7 vs. Minnesota at 3 p.m. ET

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